Picking and Paying for a College for All Athletes

Finding the right fit and the correct level for high school athletes can be extremely difficult. There are so many things to think about before many decision. Here are some issues and solutions for issues at all levels. Again, this is for all levels and all sports.

Division One
There are several sports at the Division level that every member of the team is on a full scholarship. Those sports include football (85), basketball (M - 13 and W - 15), women's tennis (8), women's gymnastics (12), and women's volleyball (12). All of the other sports can offer full scholarships but don't often because of the limits they have.

If you don't participate in any of those sports you are looking at anywhere from a full scholarship to being a walk-on. Full scholarships will go to the "elite of the elite" in that sport. Getting a full scholarship is hard. So...you should be happy with getting ANY scholarship money.

For most families, even with the scholarship money, you'll be looking at outside sources for scholarships as well as academic money. The academic money is an institution to institution thing. Most of the time the potential money will be posted somewhere on their Admissions' website. In some of the bigger schools, it depends on which "school" you apply to within the university to see if you get any academic scholarship money.

Private schools tend to give out more scholarship money than state schools. That's another thing to keep in mind if finances are really important in the final decision.

Division Two
I've talked about Division Two before HERE. Much like what I mentioned above with the minimal scholarships, D2 athlete are very similar to D1 athletes when it comes to finances. The biggest difference is that D2 athletes generally have to come up with more money out of their own pocket.

Another thing to think about is the availability of scholarships. Some programs ARE NOT fully funded and don't have the same amount of scholarships as other schools. It's a school to school and program to program thing. Like some D1 athletes, there are some full scholarships available but not as many.

Here is a chart of scholarships available for all sports at the D1 and D2 levels. Just because these are the total amount scholarships each program is allowed to have, it doesn't mean that each program has this many scholarships for their program.

Last thing to think about when it comes to a D1 and D2 scholarship is the completed offer from the school. A partial scholarship at one school could be equal to a full scholarship at another. What I mean is, some schools are forced to offer full scholarships to certain athletes because they have no chance to get them otherwise. Other schools can't afford to offer certain athletes full scholarships because the rest of their team would be compromised. That is why a partial scholarship could mean a full scholarship for certain programs.

Division Three

Since there are no athletic scholarships at the D3 level, you and your family have to figure out the best way to pay for school. Sometimes you have to get creative and sometimes you can just write a check. 

Like dealing with schools that are giving partial athletic scholarships, D3 schools will give out academic scholarships. This is generally the only way to get money from the school. Some of the upper echelon "athletic" schools could potentially give an athlete a "need based" scholarship. As in, "we need you" and we will make sure you won't pay that much. This isn't the case at most schools but certain schools will get away with this because they give all their students scholarships and it doesn't look weird. 

There is also legitimate need based financial aid. This is for families that can't afford the true cost of attendance. Certain schools are able to meet 100% of aid, while others can only meet 60%. This is all based off of the school's endowment. Not a bad thing to know before asking for a financial aid package.

The academic scholarships and the need based financial aid are great platforms for families to afford college. There are times that these two will get the total financial aid package matches a financial aid package from a state school. Doesn't always happen but it could.

At most state schools, there isn't much leeway to give academic money at the D3 level. So, they are relying on pure numbers and government funding to make profit. There still is some financial aid available but not as much as there is at a private institution. So, don't expect to get a ton of help from the school specifically in regards to financial aid.

The last and most important part of picking a college, D1, D2, or D3, is the academic side of things. You don't want to make a decision based purely off athletics. You want to go to a school that has your major of interest. If the school you initially go to has the scholarship money but not the major you are looking for, you could be miserable for the next four or five years. It could also force you to go back to school with not at much help financially from your family or the school.

Scholarships don't fall off trees BUT you have to look at the academic side of others. When picking a college, these should be you and your family's priorities 1) Cost (depending finances and/or scholarship), 2) Academics, 3) Athletics.